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Delphine's return
One of the Harpers' most beloved servants, former long-time head housekeeper, Delphine Ridgeway, returns to help take care of Dylan's Townhome. Scene Outside of Dylan's townhouse. A very vibrant, but yet advanced in age woman stands in front of the impressive home. A young man comes to the door, and sees the woman. The young man happens to be Dylan's son, Derek Harper. DEREK (cheerfully, but respecting protocol): Hi there. Can I help you? WOMAN: Yes, my dear, maybe you can. Are your parents at home? DEREK: My dad Adam is home. My dad Dylan and my aunt Sheila are still at work. WOMAN: All right, I can wait. You are Dylan's adopted son? DEREK: Yes, I am. My name is Derek. WOMAN: Nice to meet you, my dear. My name is Delphine. DEREK: That is a lovely name. DELPHINE (smiling): Yes, it is. I have always liked it. DEREK: How do you know my dad and aunt? DELPHINE: I was their housekeeper when they were growing up. When they were living at the Harper Mansion, I was the head of housekeeping. DEREK: Wow. (Enter Amelia.) AMELIA: Mrs. Ridgeway?! What are you doing here? DEREK: You know her, Ms. Stansberry? AMELIA: Yes, I do. She was my superior when your dad was a child. DEREK: I didn't know that. AMELIA: Yes, she was. Are you going over to Sammy's? I have your bag ready. DEREK: Yes, I am. Dad said I can stay over, and so did Aunt Anyssa. AMELIA: All right, honey. Be safe. DEREK: See you, Ms. Stansberry. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ridgeway. DELPHINE: See you, my dear. AMELIA: See you, darling. (Derek runs to Sammy's house.) DELPHINE: He was raised well. He's really quite polite. AMELIA: Yes, he is. He was raised by wealthy grandparents, and he knows the protocol. DELPHINE: So, you run the place? AMELIA: Yes, I do. What brings you here? DELPHINE: I had to leave the academy. AMELIA: Why? DELPHINE: Although Mr. Jason talked to the board, the job was eliminated because of some unforeseen budget cuts. So, I was offered a job here at Dylan's. His mother, Michelle hired me. AMELIA: Well, come on in. I'll get the staff to meet you. (Enter Bryan. He is surprised.) BRYAN: Mrs. Ridgeway? Is that really you? DELPHINE: Yes, it is. I was hired here by Michelle. AMELIA: That is good. Ms. Harper knows what is needed. DELPHINE: I know what we can do. BRYAN: What is that? DELPHINE: Since we three have worked with Dylan the longest. You, Amelia as his nanny and housekeeper; Bryan as his manservant; and me as the overseer. we should be the senior servants. I understand there is another lady's maid here, Mrs. Amberson, is that correct? BRYAN: Yes. She takes care of Cathy and Ashley. We also have Miss Wadian, she is Marilyn's lady's maid and also Michelle's lady's maid. DELPHINE: They will also be in our senior servants circle as well. As will Mrs. Hollis, the cook. Since we have a small retinue of servants, we should all be equal. AMELIA: What about you? DELPHINE: I will be the overseer. I cannot do housework much anymore, but I can be the paper-pusher. Taking care of bringing in the supplies and what-not. Who takes care of the grocery shopping and all? BRYAN: That is good. AMELIA: I am in agreement with that one. Usually for groceries, that is the realm of Mrs. Hollis, since she is the cook. There is a Market Basket nearby where we live. And usually she gets a ride with whomever can drive at that time, usually it is Audra, who works at home here. At times, when there are snacks to be bought, the family does for themselves; and when there are changes to dinner, we usually get a message. DELPHINE: Sounds like it's a good system, and one I can work with. (The new servants group begin to work, Dylan and Sheila come home) DYLAN: Mrs. Ridgeway?! You're here! DELPHINE: Yes, I am, my dear. SHEILA: But we thought you'd be here later. DELPHINE: I came early. As a surprise. SHEILA: Well, we're sure surprised. When did you get here? We got off work early, because we have a big dinner tonight. DELPHINE: An hour ago. I met Derek. He's a real sweetheart. DYLAN: Thank you, Mrs. Ridgeway. I suppose we should let you get to work, now. AMELIA: It's fine, sir. Mrs. Hollis will have dinner ready later. Are we entertaining tonight? DYLAN: We've got our mother coming, as well as Leslie and Joanne. Also, Dr. Leslie Steele and Dr. Aja Dorrance. DELPHINE: Who are they? SHEILA: Joanne Marsden is our administrative assistant, and Leslie Watters is her close friend. Aja Dorrance is a psychiatrist, and Dr. Leslie Steele is Dylan's personal physician. DELPHINE: So there are four more for dinner, aside from the family? DYLAN: Yes, except Derek. He's staying at Sammy's tonight, so he will have dinner with them. Also, Michelle is considered to be a resident here now, and she is automatically permanent. DELPHINE: I see on the list there is another permanent guest here, named Aidan? SHEILA: Aidan Atherton. He is one of Derek's best friends. Those two and Sammy comprise the trio. No doubt that he will also be at Sammy's with Derek. DYLAN: Aidan's dad is kind of related to us. His uncle was once married to our Aunt Samantha. DELPHINE: Samantha is back? SHEILA: Yes, she is. She's been back for some time now. She owns a modeling agency here in Boston. She is married to Steven Bennett. DELPHINE: I remember that now. DYLAN: Her children, Audra and Shawn live here. So does our friend, Libby Atchison; and our other cousin, Roger Lambert. Besides them, our mother lives here, and so does our new head of security. (Enter: Shawn Van der Vlis. He serves the family as their head of security.) SHAWN (grinning): My ears are burning. Who is this? DYLAN: This is our new head of housekeeping. Shawn Van der Vlis, I would like you to meet Mrs. Delphine Ridgeway. She has worked for our family for many years. She was our head of housekeeping when we lived in the mansion, and she was working for the academy until Mom hired her for our head of housekeeping here. SHAWN: Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Ridgeway. DELPHINE: Thank you, Mr. Van der Vlis. So you protect us here? SHAWN: Yes, especially since we have had to deal with Jennifer and her antics. DELPHINE: Who is Jennifer? SHEILA: Jennifer Barrett. She is a former model who does nothing but cause trouble for our family. She killed one of our cousins, and she vandalized our park square. DELPHINE: I will keep an eye out on her, you can be sure of that one. And it will be a joy to see Aidan. From what I have heard, he is quite a sweet young man. (Enter Bryan) BRYAN: Mrs. Hollis said dinner will be at seven. (Enter Joanne and Leslie, Aja and Leslie Steele comes in right behind them.) LESLIE: Are we in time? JOANNE: I think we're early. DELPHINE: You're right on time, ladies. I am Mrs. Ridgeway, the new head of housekeeping. AJA: I cannot wait for this dinner. JOANNE: Mrs. Hollis is a great cook. DR. STEELE: I can't wait either. Hope it is a great menu. SHEILA: It is. I talked with her before I went to work. And Ashley talked with her earlier this afternoon. (Enter Ashley, who looks absolutely beautiful in her Vera Wang dress.) ASHLEY: I think it is a good menu. Since Aunt Sheila was at work, I had to help with the menus. I talked with her when I got home from school. DYLAN: And your aunt is grateful for your help. ASHLEY: Thanks, Dad. (Enter Michelle) MICHELLE: Hi everyone. ASHLEY: Hi Grandma. How are you? MICHELLE: I am fine, darling. Once I am moved in, I can help with talking to Mrs. Hollis about meals. DYLAN: Thanks, Mom. It is good you are helping us. MICHELLE: My pleasure, honey. DELPHINE: I am glad you are moving in here as well, Ma'am. MICHELLE: It will be good for us all. My question is, are you all settled in, Delphine? DELPHINE: Yes, ma'am, I am. MICHELLE: If I may have a word with you? DELPHINE: Certainly, Ma'am. (They go into Dylan's study) MICHELLE: Thank you for coming here. When Jason told me your position was slated for cuts, I couldn't let that happen to a woman who has given so much to us over the years. So, I came up with the position here. You are always welcome. And I know how much you love Dylan and Sheila as well. This will be really helpful for them. DELPHINE: Thank you, Miss Michelle. I adore them, as you know. MICHELLE: You're welcome. And I know you did. You were the one who chased Shelby after she tried to kidnap Dylan. DELPHINE: What happened to her? MICHELLE: She's dead. She'll never hurt my children again. DELPHINE: Thank God for that. (Enter Bryan. He smiles) BRYAN: Dinner is ready, ladies. Everyone else is heading in. DELPHINE: Time for dinner, my dear. MICHELLE: Yes, it is. You should eat with us. Everyone eats together, servants included. DELPHINE: All right. (The two go out of the study and head to the dining room as the scene fades) Category:Episodes Category:Episodes featuring Dylan and Sheila